Gary Clayton Kelly (born March 12, 1955) is an American business executive. He is the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and former chief executive officer of

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

Personal life

Kelly was born in San Antonio on March 12, 1955. Kelly received a Bachelor of Business Administration in

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

. Kelly first met his wife Carol in eighth grade. They married in 1976. Together, they have two daughters.

Career

Prior to his work at Southwest, Kelly worked as an Audit Manager for Arthur Young & Co. and a controller for

Sterling Software Sterling Software was an American software company founded in Dallas, Texas in 1981 by Sterling Williams and brothers Sam and Charles Wyly. The company was acquired by Computer Associates International in 2000 in a stock-for-stock transaction ...

. Kelly first joined Southwest Airlines in 1986 as a controller. In 1989, Kelly was promoted to

Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

and Vice President of Finance. In 2001, he was promoted to Executive Vice President. Kelly spent 3 years in this role until he was promoted to become Southwest's fifth CEO and vice chairman in 2004 replacing James Parker who succeeded Herb Kelleher in 2001. Kelly was named

Chairman of the Board of Directors The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

on May 21, 2008, replacing co- founder Herb Kelleher. Gary Kelly also became president of Southwest Airlines the same year, replacing

Colleen Barrett Colleen C. Barrett (born September 14, 1944) is the President Emerita of Southwest Airlines, and an influential figure in the founding and development of the company. In 2001 she became the first woman to serve as president of a major airline. ...

when her contract expired on July 15, 2008. Bob Fornaro and Gary Kelly

As CEO, Kelly has guided the airline to become the largest carrier of domestic passengers in the United States. He has led the company through a number of transformative, large-scale initiatives including the revamp of the airline’s

Rapid Rewards Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the ...

program, the introduction of the Boeing 737–800 and 737 MAX aircraft to Southwest’s fleet, the acquisition of

AirTran Airways AirTran Airways was a low-cost U.S. airline that was originally headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and ceased operation following its acquisition by Southwest Airlines. AirTran Airways was established in 1993 as Conquest Sun Airlines by the ...

, the launching of Southwest's first international service, an update to the airline’s branding, the adoption of the Amadeus reservation system, and large expansion projects at the company’s corporate headquarters in Dallas. On January 10, 2017, Kelly announced changes to the Company's executive Leadership ranks with Thomas M. Nealon named as President and Michael G. Van de Ven named as the airline's Chief Operating Officer. These changes were effective immediately. Kelly retained the title of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. After agreeing to take a salary cut to prevent employee furloughs, his base salary reduced to zero until the end of 2021. After Congress passed additional Payroll Support Program (PSP) measures, the SWA BoD retroactively reinstated Gary Kelly's full salary. On 23 June 2021, Kelly announced he would relinquish his role as CEO in February 2022, with Bob Jordan announced to take his place at that time. He will remain as Executive Chairman of the board until at least 2026. On December 15, 2021, Kelly testified against mask mandates on airplanes at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing while sitting unmasked next to other unmasked senior airline executives opposed to mask mandates; two days later he tested positive for COVID-19.

Awards and recognition

Kelly was named one of the best CEOs in America for 2008, 2009 and 2010 by

Institutional Investor An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked co ...

magazine and serves on the President's Council of Jobs and Competitiveness. In 2014, Kelly received the Advertising Innovation and Marketing Excellence (AIME) Award. Kelly was the 2016 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished achievement in commercial air transportation. In 2017,

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

named Kelly the #3 most underrated CEO in America (after

Satya Nadella Satya Narayana Nadella (, ; born 19 August 1967) is an Indian-American business executive. He is the executive chairman and CEO of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014 as CEO and John W. Thompson in 2021 as chairman. Before becoming CE ...

and Jeff Bezos) based on a survey of

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

CEOs asking them which of their fellow CEOs do not get enough credit. Kelly received 85 votes. On February 18, 2020, Gary Kelly was named as the recipient of the 2020 Philanthropic Leadership Award from The Ireland Funds. On October 25, 2021, Gary Kelly was the recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from 3BL Media.

References

External links

Gary C. Kelly's executive profile

CEO of the Year (Again!): Gary Kelly of Southwest Airlines

Nuts About Southwest Blog

Gary C. Kelly Shares His Views on Leadership (Video)

Gary C. Kelly on Becoming CEO of Southwest Airlines (Video)

Gary C. Kelly Describes A Story of Caring (Video)

Southwest Airlines Employee Testimonials (Video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Gary C. American airline chief executives Living people 1955 births McCombs School of Business alumni Southwest Airlines people American chief financial officers